Tittabawassee River floodplain cleanup decision expected in 2014

Published 8:30 am, Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to shift part of its approach to pollution cleanup decisions for the Tittabawassee River floodplain.

The EPA will stick with its original upstream-to-downstream decision making in separate river segments for in-channel and river bank pollution, but will consider solutions to floodplain contamination for most of the river at one time, Mary Logan, EPA remedial project manager, said. The actual cleanup work would still continue segment-by-segment to avoid recontamination further downriver, she said.

Logan presented the new plan Monday night at a meeting of the Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group.

The site is contaminated with dioxins and furans released by The Dow Chemical Co.’s Michigan Operations site in Midland. It extends from the chemical plant through the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay.

The change in philosophy will help give people throughout the floodplain more certainty about what will happen to their property, Logan said.

“Comprehensive decision making for the Tittabawassee River floodplain will ultimately get to a faster cleanup,” she said, though the time to make an initial decision may be longer.

The plan is to develop communications plans this year, followed by creating the preliminary list of cleanup options and gaining community input in 2013. The preferred solution would be picked in 2014 and a formal approval process would be selected. Actual work would follow.

Advisory group member Deborah Huntley appreciated the new approach for the floodplain work.

“I think it makes a lot of sense,” she said.

Terry Miller of the Lone Tree Council urged the EPA to include a larger meeting as part of the process to allow an open discussion.

“People need to hear what other people are saying,” he said.

The group also got an update on the first segment of the river cleanup, which will take place adjacent to Dow’s Michigan Operations site in Midland.

Dow’s Todd Konechne said the company is developing design specifics for the work that will take place in 2012. The plan will be submitted to the EPA at the end of April. There are six sediment management areas within a one mile area and work will take place over two construction seasons, finishing in the fall of 2013.

The planned work and previously released cost estimates are:

• Area 1: Place a clean cap over contaminated sediment to isolate and stabilize the sediment. Cost: $250,000.

• Areas 2 and 3: Remove and treat DNAPL, a liquid form of pollution, isolate contaminated sediment with sheet pile and a cap and capture water within the sediment and treat it. Cost: $1.8 million.

• Area 6: Dredge and dispose of sediment contaminated by ethyl parathion; remove and treat DNAPL; isolate remaining contaminated sediment with sheet pile and a cap; and capture water within the sediment and treat it. Cost: $3.1 million.

The advisory group also heard from the EPA about community outreach efforts. The EPA has worked with local partners to present information in schools, at farmer’s markets, fairs and expos. The EPA has been sharing information about the cleanup projects, signing people up for newsletters and explaining fish and wild game advisory information.

“Last year we attended over 20 events and interacted with approximately 3,000 people,” Diane Russell of the EPA, said of the local office, which has moved to 804 S. Hamilton St. in Saginaw.

Another 12,000 people were contacted through community partners, she said.

Efforts will continue in 2012 with the Bay County Health Department, Bay City State Recreation Area and the Saginaw First Ward Community Center.

The advisory group is waiting to see if an EPA official from the Washington, D.C., headquarters can speak at its April meeting. If not, the meeting might be canceled.

In May, it expects the EPA to report on the possible use of sediment traps in the Saginaw River to stop pollution from reaching Saginaw Bay.

“We want the EPA to know that learning about this issue and the potential application of this project is a high priority to us,” advisory group member Wendy Kanar said.

Logan said a decision on the traps, which the Lone Tree Council has requested for years, needs more research. She expects initial information can be presented in May.